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Monthly Archives: July 2014

On July 27, 1984, long after Vancouver’s “punk” scene was over, Mecca Normal opened for D.O.A. at the Smilin’ Buddha and then this strange account of the show appeared in the weekly music paper saying that D.O.A. had played “mecca normal” songs that night. A correction was printed the following week.

And that was just the beginning of the 30 years of weirdness and intensity that continues to this day.

Turns out that working with David Lester is the best decision I ever made.

The lyrics for “One Man’s Anger” are directly out of Jean Smith’s novel “Obliterating History – a guitar-making mystery, domination & submission in a small town garage” (literary fiction). Jean Smith is represented by the Carolyn Swayze Literary Agency.

Our last show on this short tour was the Unknown Music Festival in Anacortes. It was great to see people we know. Bret and Denise, Phil and Genevieve, Arrington, Mariella and a few others. We didn’t have much of a chance to talk to anyone though.

I was going to video and record (with the Zoom H4n), but we had very little time between sets, so I opted for video only.

With a couple hundred people sitting on the floor, a handful of people on benches along the walls and a few more standing at the very back, I carefully positioned the camera on the end of a table on the side of the hall. It was difficult to figure out where Dave and I would be on stage because the red velvet curtains were still closed, so I went for a wide shot.

During our set I happened to look in the direction of the video camera and noticed that someone had brought a chair over and positioned themselves in front of the camera. Damn. Later that night, back at the motel, I rewound a bit of the video to see if I got anything of use. It seems like the camera must have gotten bumped off-center at some point, but I did manage to get a nice shot of a guy wearing a neck brace. Thank god someone else decided to sit in the static space to the left within the first quarter of the song. You know, after a session of hugging between two other folks.

The guy with the neck brace blocks some of me and all of Dave for the entire set and this seemed like the most hilarious thing in the world at the end of the night, back at the motel with cheese burgers, fries and chocolate shakes in the middle of the night.

I know it’s totally goofy to post this without Dave in the shot, but there’s something about it I like.

“Of all the bands that emerged from the vibrant ’90s underground scene, the one that’s most unfairly glossed over is Mecca Normal. It’s likely something to do with the Canadian duo’s uncompromising sound: the slashing guitar chords of David Lester snapping at singer Jean Smith’s challenging feminist lyrics and fearless singing. It was blues music filtered through a punk prism. Twenty-plus years later, and the pair haven’t shifted their aesthetic in the least, only calmed it a little. Their most recent album, Empathy for the Evil, was recorded with former Bongwater founder Kramer, who adds a welcome psychedelic tinge that lends a strangely wistful quality to these often stirring political anthems. This show continues M’lady’s Record’s series of shows celebrating the Portland label’s seventh anniversary.” — Portland Mercury, July 16, 2014

Mecca Normal live on Lake Washington (Seattle) at the beginning of a short tour on the west coast in July of 2014. Thanks to Clyde Petersen of Boating with Clyde for welcoming us aboard!

Mecca Normal performed songs from the new album “Empathy for the Evil” and debuted “Anguish/Misogyny” which has grown in intensity since that day. It must be the only sitting down debut Mecca Normal has ever done!

Seattle, Washington, July 15 at Hollow Earth Radio
Portland, Oregon, July 16 at the Red and Black Café
Olympia, Washington July 17 at the Little House on the Perry
Anacortes, Washington on Friday July 18 at the Unknown Music Series